FRANCE: President Jacques Chirac met with more than 500 prominent members of France's Muslim community in Paris's Grand Mosque yesterday because "here, the thousand-year-old message of Islam joins up with the heritage and values of the Republic".
It was "a particularly difficult moment", he said. "Less than seven months after the tragedies of New York and Washington, as passions are stirred up in our own land, as the Middle East, alas, is again in flames."
A small group of young French Muslims managed to enter the meeting room and approach Mr Chirac. "Chirac to Ramallah. Chirac to Ramallah," they chanted, begging the French president to repeat his October 1996 visit, when Mr Chirac became the first head of state to call on Mr Yasser Arafat in his West Bank headquarters. Mr Chirac could only smile. He and his rival, the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, last week disputed paternity of two French initiatives.
The first suggested that the EU send its acting President, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, to Ramallah. The second proposed an international force in the Israeli-occupied territories. But despite the widespread perception that Mr Chirac is pro-Arab, Mr Jospin pro-Israeli, both candidates are struggling to appear impartial, less than two weeks before the first round of the presidential election.
"Our Jewish compatriots are in no way responsible for Israeli policies, and our Arab Muslim compatriots are in no way responsible for suicide bombings," Mr Jospin stressed.
More Arab Muslims (around 5 million) and Jews (700,000) co-exist in France than any other country in the world. The Israeli Prime Minister's assault on the West Bank has ensured that foreign policy, which otherwise barely figures in the campaign, has become a central, if explosive, issue.
Three right-wing presidential candidates, Ms Corinne Lepage, Mr Francois Bayrou and Mr Alain Madelin, marched with 100,000 people in a demonstration organised by the Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) on April 7th to denounce attacks on Jewish symbols in France - and to express support for Israel.
A pro-Palestinian march on April 6th drew 30,000 demonstrators, including the green presidential candidate Mr Noel Mamère. Mr Mamère criticised the CRIF for creating confusion between two separate issues. "It is legitimate to criticise the State of Israel while denouncing the acts committed in France in recent days," he said.
Anti-Semitic attacks have become a near daily occurrence since Mr Sharon started his offensive. On Monday, two youths were arrested in Strasbourg for placing a home-made bomb in a Jewish cemetery, and three Molotov cocktails were thrown at an office of the Jewish students' union at the University of Paris.
These acts followed violent incidents at the April 7th rally in support of Israel.
"A core of between 400 and 500 people belonging to extremist pro-Israeli movements did not cease provocations for several hours," the chief of Paris police, Mr Jean-Paul Proust, said.
Armed with knives, stun guns and baseball bats, young men from Betar, the Likud youth movement in France, and the Jewish Defence League, beat up North African Arabs and journalists whom they accused of being pro-Palestinian.
A Jewish militant stabbed a policeman in the stomach when he tried to intervene.